University Expansion

After more than a year of laying the groundwork for Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi’s future expansion, University President Flavius Killebrew and Corpus Christi Mayor Henry Garrett signed an agreement formally transferring 137 acres of city land near the intersection of Ennis Joslin Road and Nile Drive to the University, Monday, March 10, 2008.

The city’s gift includes around 96 acres surrounding the water treatment plant west of Nile Drive and 41 acres of South Guth Park on Ennis Joslin Road. The land will be used for non-academic facilities such as athletics, housing, a physical plant and parking, which will create space for expansion of academics at the University campus on Ward Island. The Austin firm of Broaddus & Associates prepared a Master Plan and held two public forums with homeowners from adjacent neighborhoods before the donation was formalized.

Campus expansion studies show that the 240-acre Ward Island can only accommodate the people, programs and services that support around 10,000 students. The recent level of campus growth indicates that this capacity will be reached within the next few years. By concentrating academic activities on the island and shifting the land usage for other units to an additional site, the University has the opportunity to serve a market potential of 16,000 students.

After months of community and campus meetings to gather feedback on the preliminary concept, Broaddus and Associates presented the final campus expansion plan which addresses both near and long-term development priorities. We invite you to review the presentation in Adobe PDF form. Click for presentation.